And Adonoy spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon's two sons, who brought an [unauthorized] offering before Adonoy and died. And Adonoy spoke to Moshe: speak to your brother Aharon that he should not enter at all times the [inner] Sanctuary that is beyond the curtain, before the Ark-cover, which is on the Ark, so that he may not die, for in the cloud, I appear over the Ark-covering. When Aharon enters this inner Sanctuary, it must be with a young bullock for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. He must put on a sanctified, white linen tunic; and have linen pants on his body; and with a linen sash, he must gird himself, and with a linen turban, he must cover his head. These are sacred vestments, and [therefore], he must immerse himself in a mikveh before putting them on. And from the congregation of the children of Yisrael, he shall take two he-goats for sin-offerings, and one ram for a burnt-offering. And Aharon shall [begin by] presenting his own bullock for a sin-offering, and make atonement⁷ for himself and his household.

footnotes: ⁷ Atonement was made by confessing his sins, and the sins of his household.—Rashi

He shall then take the two he-goats and stand them before Adonoy, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And Aharon shall place lots on the two he-goats, one lot [marked] “for Adonoy” and one lot [marked] “for Azazel.”⁸ And Aharon shall present the goat that has the lot “for Adonoy,” which he will [later] prepare as a sin-offering. And the goat that has the lot “for Azazel” shall remain alive before Adonoy, for [Aharon to make] atonement on it and send it to Azazel in the desert. And Aharon shall present his bullock for a sin-offering and make atonement for himself and for his [priestly-family] household,⁹ and he shall then slaughter his bullock as a sin-offering.

footnotes: ⁸ Azazel denotes a hard, rocky cliff from which the goat was pushed off to its death.—Rashi ⁹ This second confession was for himself and his fellow priests.—Rashi

And he shall take a fire pan full of burning coals from the [western] side of the [outer] Altar which is toward Adonoy, and a double handful of finely pulverized sweet incense, and bring them into the [inner Sanctuary] within the curtain. And he shall place the incense on the fire, before Adonoy, so that the smoke from the incense covers the Ark-cover that is upon the [tablets of] testimony, and [then] he will not die. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock and with his forefinger, sprinkle it [once] above the east side of the Ark-cover; and [then] directly toward the Ark-cover, he shall sprinkle the blood seven times with his forefinger. And then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people,¹⁰ and bring its blood [into the inner Sanctuary] within the curtain and he shall do the same with this blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and he shall sprinkle it above the Ark-cover and directly toward the Ark-cover. And he shall make atonement on the holy [Ark] for the defilement¹¹ of the children of Yisrael and for their transgressions and all their sins; and so shall he do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanliness. No one else shall be in the Tent of Meeting from the time that he [Aharon] enters the Sanctuary to make atonement until he leaves; and thus shall he make atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the entire community of Yisrael.

footnotes: ¹⁰ This refers to the goat chosen by lot “for Adonoy.”—Rashi ¹¹ This refers to defilement caused by those who entered the Sanctuary in an unclean state. —Rashi

He shall then go out to the Altar that is before Adonoy,¹² and make atonement on it; he shall [do so by] taking some of the blood of the bullock and of the goat, and placing the mitxure on the horns of the Altar, all around. He shall sprinkle the blood on it¹³ seven times with his forefinger; and thus he shall purify and sanctify¹⁴ it from any defilement on the part of the Children of Yisrael. When he finishes making atonement of the [inner] Sanctuary, of the Tent of Meeting and of the Altar, he shall present the live goat. And [then] Aharon shall lean both his hands on the head of the live goat, and he shall confess on it all the iniquities of the Children of Yisrael, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall place them on the goat's head and send it to the desert with a man, specially designated [for this purpose]. The goat will thus carry all their iniquities to a desolate area, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness. And Aharon shall then come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the white linen garments that he wore when he entered the [inner] Sanctuary; and he shall leave them there. And he shall immerse his body in a mikveh in the sanctified area and [then] he shall put on his [regular] vestments; and he shall go out and offer his own burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and he shall make atonement for himself and for the people.

footnotes: ¹² This refers to the Golden Altar upon which the incense was burned.—Rashi ¹³ This blood was sprinkled on the top of the Altar itself.—Rashi ¹⁴ He shall purify it of the sins which occupied in the past and he shall sanctify it against sin in the future.—Rashi in the name of Sifrah.

And the fat of the sin-offering he shall burn upon the Altar. And the one who sends the goat to Azazel shall immerse his clothing and his body in a mikveh, and [only] then may he enter the camp. And the bullock and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the [inner] Sanctuary to make atonement, shall be brought outside the camp; and they shall burn their skin, flesh, and entrails in fire. And the one who burns them shall immerse his clothing and his body in a mikveh, and he may then come back into the camp. This shall be an eternal statute for you; [each year] on the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall fast and not do any work, [this applies] to the native born and to the proselyte who joins you. For on this day He will make atonement for you to cleanse you; from all your sins before Adonoy, you will be cleansed.

It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and you must fast; it is an eternal statute. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated to be [the high] priest in his father's place, shall make this atonement, wearing the sacred linen vestments. And he shall make atonement for the holy [inner] Sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting and for the Altar; and for the priests and for all the people of the community he shall make atonement. And this shall be for you an eternal statute to achieve atonement for the Children of Yisrael for all their sins once each year; and he [Aharon] did¹⁵ as Adonoy commanded Moshe.

footnotes: ¹⁵ When the Day of Atonement arrived, he performed the services in the order proscribed by Hashem.

This is the Torah which Moshe placed before the children of Yisrael. at Adonoy's command by the hand of Moshe. It is a tree of life to those who grasp to it, and those who support it are fortunate. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Long life is at its right, at its left, riches and honor. Adonoy desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the Torah great and to glorify it.